While cruising
azcentral.com tonight, I came across an article for Wednesday's edition of
The Hill.
It seems that the GOP is ready to clean house and Jeff Flake (R) wants a 'clean sweep'.
Flake adds to the buzz we've been hearing the past couple of weeks about Hastert replacements, etc:
He worries that if the GOP keeps even a fragile hold on its majority, the conference will stick with the same leadership course with only minor changes. This, in turn, will mean continuing to put too much emphasis on trying to keep the majority by handing out earmarks to vulnerable members and special favors to certain groups instead of standing for principles such as fiscal restraint.
Recent conference calls with GOP leaders have done nothing to calm his fears. "When you get on these conference calls ... there's not much of a `Mea culpa on what we've done wrong and here's what we're going to do,' " he said.
Seems they're all getting ready for a "leadership scramble" next week.
And in a typical GOP style, the vultures appear to be circling:
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has indicated that she would like to run for the GOP conference chair, a key communications position now held by Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio), who is in the toughest reelection fight of her life.
If this wasn't such a tough election for the GOP, would any of them have this kind of self awareness?
Flake said he deeply regrets not standing up and criticizing GOP leaders' decision early last year to purge the ethics committee of its Republican members after the panel admonished former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) for the third time for ethics violations.
"The rank-and-file members, myself included, should have stood up and screamed," he said. "Its just another indication that we're not policing our own and it goes to the whole earmarking culture [that led to the imprisonment of former Rep.] Duke Cunningham [R-Calif.]."
or this about the Foley/ethics committee mess:
"You can blame the Democrats, but we certainly gave them a reason to do what they did," Flake said.
Sorry, Mr. Flake, your party is a disgrace and you are part of it. I'm tired of all of the hindsight that the GOP uses to excuse, explain, twist, spin, and minimize their mistakes (oops! no WMD's!). You people are being paid to do a job and you are not only NOT doing it, you are destroying our country in the process.
You are sure to be re-elected, Mr. Flake. Most of the voters here in Mesa fall for your 'sincere' front. But, I hope to hell the rest of the country is paying attention. If the democrats can get control, you and all of your cronies will have no more power to make more messes.
Oh, one more thing, Mr. Flake, if the GOP really wants to clean house, grab a broom and help the democrats clean up the pile of crap you have left in Washington.
Note: Bolds are mine in quotes.
Note: Jeff Flake has no democrat opposing him (I guess I'll write in one of my friends)